ground beef

This is the ‘new' Hamburger Helper in our house! Not that we've eaten much HH lately, but I do admit to buying it quite a bit when the girls were little (ugh). I call this recipe ‘hash' in my house, and the family loves it. The best thing? It's free of many allergens: gluten free, casein free, dairy free, grain free and so is suitable for those following SCD, GAPS, or Paleo/Primal diet. You can serve this as a ‘one dish meal' or serve it alongside some raw vegetables for variety. You can also add a higher percentage of meat for more of a protein punch.

This recipe is so easy I'm not sure why I never made it before. Just throw spices and herbs into some meat, mix, form into patties and cook, and voila! You have sausage with no MSG or any weird fillers. And I used beef hamburger of all things to make this, because we have a ton of it in the freezer. It was great! You can use pastured turkey, chicken or pork too, or a combination.

I used to HATE meatloaf as a kid, and to this day I don't know why. The meatloaf my mom made was good, not weird or anything. But for some reason I didn't like it until my 20's, and now I could eat it once a week and not get tired of it.

Sally Fallon's meatloaf recipe from Nourishing Traditions is slightly different from my typical meatloaf in that it has some fresh finely chopped vegetables in it. My daughter was reading the recipe this morning and said ‘oh no' about the vegetables, but it was actually a welcome addition to a typically heavy dish. I also mixed the meatloaf in my food processor for the first time, which gave it a uniform consistency, unlike all of my previous attempts.

I love this sauce, it is so easy, it's tasty, and it's satisfying. I like tomatoes, but sometimes variety is good. I will eat this sauce over rice noodles, rice, or even mashed or baked potatoes. It's not fancy, but one of those easy meals that you can make on a weeknight when you haven't planned a dinner ahead of time. And it's gluten, casein (dairy) and nightshade free! The picture above is before the wine and beef broth are added. It's a bit more saucy, but not like gravy since the only thickener used is some gelatin.

Well I am beat, because I just went two rounds in The Spaghetti Wars. Let me tell you, it wasn't pretty! I was innocently cooking up Sally's Spaghetti Sauce, and my husband was doing the bread. He noticed the chicken livers being sauted in butter on the stove.

“What's that?” he said, pointing at my favorite All Clad pan, where the livers were frying away.

“Meat.” I said, knowing what I was in for.

“What kind of meat?” he said, his voice becoming more alarmed.

I sighed. “Chicken livers,” I said, because I just can't lie to him (we've only been married 5 years).

“There is NO way that I'm eating anything with THOSE in them!” He stated, like I didn't know THAT already!